Runnin' Barefoot
by tropicana-e
Summary: Ponyboy asks a girl to help him train for track tryouts. Someone he normally wouldn't even think of asking. But as their friendship forms he'll witness things he never even imagined was real.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hello everyone! As I stated before, this will NOT be an OC romance. Nothing of the sort. But I do have an original character, and her and Ponyboy will have a friendship pairing. Nothing more. Now that that's said, I'd like to thank you for clicking on my story! I hope you did it because it sparked your interest, and you weren't just doing it to see if it was a Mary-Sue or not so you could flame me. A lot of people do that, you know. But anywayz, on with the story. Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer:** Sorry, I don't own The Outsiders or the characters, but I do own the ones that you've never heard of, because I made them up!

**Summary:** Ponyboy asks a girl to help him train for track try-outs. But as their friendship forms he'll have to witness a lot of things that he never even imagined was real. The Drama ensues.

**Ages:** Ponyboy, 14  
Jimmie Lee, 15

**Runnin' Barefoot**

_Chapter: One_

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_My eyes widened when I saw her. She was incredible. _

"Hey, Two-Bit!" I yelled after the bell had let us out. School was over, and I was almost sure he wasn't planning on doing anything today besides getting boozed up and girl hunting. He turned and grinned at me as I caught up to him.

"Whaddaya want, kid?" He said slinging his arm heavily on my shoulder. I almost winced.

"You doin' anything after school today?" I asked. I already knew his answer, but it just seemed pretty rude to verbally assume that he had no plans. Plus it wouldn't hurt to be sure. He looked off, as if he were really thinking, then shrugged.

"Nothin'. Why, you got somethin' planned?" He said, slapping me on the back which, again, probably hurt me more than he meant it to.

"Yeah," I answered. "I was gonna go watch the kids practice for try-outs at the football field. I ain't seen the highschool track team yet."

"Ahh, I see." Two-Bit grinned again. "Wanna see what you're up against, right? Tryin' to check out your competition? Gettin' a little nervous now that you're with the big dogs, 'ey Pony?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah right, Two-Bit. You coming or not?" I said, stopping at the doors of the school. He fished in his pockets and grabbed a pack of Kools from his jacket.

"Ain't got nothin' _else_ to do." He stated, lighting up and taking a drag on the Kool. I took that as a yes, and we went around to the back of the school to the football field.

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There was a group of kids in the middle of the field that caught my eye as we made our way up the bleachers. I glanced at them through side vision and we sat four rows back to silently observe them.

As I looked closely, I came to realize. There were no white kids on the field or the track. It was all black kids. Ok I'll admit it; it made me a little nervous. Not that I had a problem with black people or anything. It's just that, they had a HUGE problem with me, or white people in general for that matter. I knew there were some nasty racist people around, but that didn't automatically mean that all white people were like that. I didn't blame them though. I'd probably be the same way if I was black. Only hanging around other black kids and what not, sitting only with other black kids, eating only with other black kids, you know. But since I'm not black, I get a little squirmy when there's a group of them around.

I looked over at Two-Bit, who was reacting in almost the exact opposite manner. He just leaned back and smoked. Completely calm and collected, watching them practice. They stretched for a while and then the boys decided to race. That's when I leaned forward, with my elbows on my legs for a better look. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. In all three years I'd been on the middle school track team I had _never_ witness anyone run so fast. I mean _I_ was the _best_ on the middle school team, not to brag, but I probably couldn't even _keep up_ with them. And some of those kids were the same age, if not younger than, me. It was as if it was nature for them to be quick. Running was a natural talent. It was amazing.

They did a few relays and did whole laps for a while, and I was still in awe. We had been there for almost an hour and I stood to tell Two-Bit to come on so we could leave, but just then the girls got into position and were about to race. I sat back down and my eyebrows furrowed. They crouched down and waited for someone to give the signal.

"You ready?" A voice came somewhere from one of them. "Go!" All but one took off. She still stood there, crouching as if she hadn't heard them. I almost wanted to shout 'He said go!', but knowing better, I kept my mouth shut and my eyes on her. It was a full 5 seconds before she took off. My eyes widened. She was unimaginable. It wasn't 2 seconds before she caught up with them, then she was in the cluster of them, looking at them individually and almost laughing, out of nowhere she sped up again and not 3 seconds after that she was in the lead. She smoked them mercilessly; and they were pretty fast girls. She even had time to turn around and smile as they came to the finish mark. I'm not sure if my mouth was hanging open or not, but it had every right to. I had never seen anyone sprint like that. Not ever.

"She's pretty good." Two-Bit spoke out of nowhere. I looked at him, then back to the field.

"She's unreal." I said with more than a hint of jealousy. I guess Two-Bit caught that. "Who is she?" I asked, turning to him.

"That would be Jemima Leeanne Walker." He answered.

"Jemima? Like the pancake lady Jemima?" Two-Bit shrugged.

"I guess." He said in an 'I-dont-really-care' kind of tone.

"Well." He said, tossing his cigarette somewhere. "I guess you know what you're up against now. You got some real competition, Pon." He said standing and stretching. "You'd better get to training." I stepped down the cement stairs until I was in the first row of bleachers. I hung one of my arms over the bar and rested my chin on my other fist, sighing.

"How." I said flatly. "There's no way I could ever run like her unless _she_ trains me herself." I finished hopelessly, not even bothering to look back at him. Two-Bit laughed. Maybe he hadn't realized that I was being sarcastic.

"Well I'll be!" He said. "Are you just gonna admit and except that a _girl_ is better than you?" He howled again, and I felt heat rush to my face.

"Well what am I supposed to do!" I hollered sourly, spinning around. "Ain't no _way_ I could ever beat her. Those _other_ boys couldn't even beat her!"

"How are you so sure, Ponyboy?" He asked. "Go down there and race her." I looked at him, not believing that he would even think something like that. I stared at him for a while, waiting for him to burst out laughing again. But surprisingly, it didn't happen. He was serious. I couldn't even think of something to say. He might as well have been trying throw me in a lion's den to fetch a steak. I couldn't believe it.

"You're insane." Was all I could say, shaking my head. Normally I would've happily raced her. But in this case I was intimidated. I mean, how would it look if I, _me_, a _white_ boy just came up to her; a _black_ girl, and challenged her in front of all of her _black_ friends? Oh yeah, I think petrified is the word to describe how I felt.

"You're gonna have to do it sooner or later, Ponyboy." Two-Bit stated matter-of-factly. "How do you think the coach will feel if you let a girl beat you."

I didn't really think he would care. Just because I wasn't as fast as her didn't mean that I wasn't a good runner. But on the other hand, if somehow I _did_ get her to teach me, I would be that much better. That much closer to being a track star and maybe to catching the eye of a scout and getting a scholarship. Ok, yeah, I was letting my imagination run away with me again. But it would really help if I could see first-hand and up close, what I was really up against. Quickly I did a short series of stretches, to see how far my jeans would stretch, and tried to get myself together. I convinced myself that it would be over before I knew it, and made my way down the bleachers. Besides, I knew Two-Bit would never shut his trap if I didn't.

"Don't sweat it kid." I heard Two-Bit behind me. "You're with the big dogs now." I rolled my eyes. I made a mental note to pound the snot out of him later, and made my way out onto the field. They saw me and all smiles vanished. I wasn't surprised when I heard the insults start as I made my way over to them.

'**What're you doin' here, cracker**.' I heard one say.

'**Well look here, honky. He turnin' red. I guess he's scared o' us colored folk.**' Another one said. I kept my gaze on Jemima, even though their words were piercing into me like I've never experienced before. I knew I was blushing. But I shoved my fists into my pockets and made my way through them. I think I was slouching...I probably was, it's just a natural thing I do when I'm outnumbered or intimidated. I can't really remember though. I was too scared. I kept a stone face, even though the insults just kept coming, so I tried my best to ignore them. Still silent, I made my way up to her. She was barely an inch shorter than me. Which meant she was probably around 5' 8" or 5' 9". She had big brown eyes, and a round face. And her hair was short. It couldn't have been 2 inches long and it was in curls all around her head, with thick bangs in her face. She was lean and muscular. But when it came to...umm..._girly parts_, I couldn't really tell. No curves that I could see were visible through her track suit, but that's just how they were designed. She stood there, with a hand on her hip, looking at me like I was a disease.

"You lose something, _white boy_?" She asked. That stung me the worst. I had heard them all before. Honky, hick, redneck, cracker, pecker wood. But surprisingly, that one hit me right in the heart. _White boy_. I swallowed and looked around, seconds inched by like hours. I could feel the perspiration on my neck, and my throat tightening. Finally, with my eyes closed I took a breath. Opening them again, I tried to look cool. I looked off and shrugged. as if I wasn't really interested in anything at the moment.

"I'll race you." I said all casual-like. I think I was pretty convincing, considering that I was terrified. In fact, looking back on that, I _must_ have been convincing because one or two of them began to loudly curse me out while the others looked at me in disbelief.

I knew I looked like an idiot. But I had never needed someone more in my life. I _needed _her...

...To **TRAIN **me.

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_**Hello there everyone! Right now I'd like to personally thank you for reading. I really appreciate it. Even if you didn't like it. The fact that you took time out to read it makes me feel all warm inside! Please review. Even if you hated it, because I need to know what I need to work on, and what you would like me to fix or what you would like to see. I would be forever grateful if you review. Thanks again!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Well, I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed! I was sooo happy to see that I got 4 good ones on just the first chapter! That makes me really happy, you have no idea . But anyway, I won't keep you waiting. Here's chapter 2!**_

**Julez:** Thank you! It just came to me like the night before last, because I was soo sick of reading summaries about new girls moving to Tulsa and making the boys just fall head over heels for them (which I think is pretty unbelievable, no offense). So I came up with this, since hardly anyone writes about racial conflicts back then, which I know there were. But anywayz, Thanks for your review, I hope you keep reading!

**Bambola:** Wow, I'm really honored that you decided to review my story on the first chapter, even though it's something you don't normally do! I didn't think that I was portraying emotion, I just write what I see in my head, lol. But I am soo happy that you liked it! I'd like to dedicate this chapter to you! Teeheehee. I hope you keep reviewing and tell me immediately the moment you think that I've slipped or something. Because I'll gladly fix whatever doesn't please my readers.

**TheUltimateOutsider:** Thank you. I'm flattered that you like the way that I write and the plot. And I'll keep the lingo as non-modern as possible, lol.

**Lintucuiel:** I'm pleased to know that I sparked your interest! Lol, well I won't keep you waiting anymore!

**Runnin' Barefoot**

_Chapter: Two_

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_I knew I looked like an idiot, but I had never needed someone more in my life. I needed her...to train me._

"Excuse me?" She said. She had a southern accent that weighed heavily on her voice.

'**You heard what he said, Jimmie Lee?**' One of the older boys said. '**Cracka' said he wan'ed to _race_ you!**' He said like he was in utter shock. I still pretended not to hear them.

"D'You know who I _am_?" She asked, she cocked one eyebrow, like Two-Bit did. Reminding myself to stay cool, I cracked a grin, chuckling a little.

"Sounds like someone's a little full of themselves." I said coolly. I was pushing it, I know. But I'm a greaser, remember? I can't just let my guard down and run away like a scared little puppy with it's tail between it's legs, even if I wanted to. Especially not when they were as fast as they were. Even if I _had _wanted to; I was too far in now. I _had _to race her.

"Who do you think you is challengin' me, white boy?" She was still looking at me as if I was the lowest thing on the Earth. Like I was making her sick just looking at me. They _all_ were.

'**I'll take care o' this honky.**' One said, I turned around and saw an extremely tall, lanky black boy step up, grinding his fist into his hand, staring right at me. Slowly I pulled my hands from out of my pockets, and let the drop to my side. He walked closer to me and my heart started going crazy. I thought it would beat itself out of my chest. I balled my hands into fists as he started to move in closer. I lifted my head higher as he came closer to me, just to keep eye contact. I know my eyes were wider than a deer's in headlights. I had never been so scared in my life. He was finally close enough so that I could feel him breathing on me, and, shutting my eyes again, I prepared for the beating of a lifetime.

"Leave 'im be, Ray!" Jemima spoke up from behind me. but obviously he wasn't thoroughly convinced and he drew his fist back.

"Come on now, Ray, let it alone!" One of the girls behind him protested. "Momma don' _told_ you 'bout gettin' into fights with them white boys!" She begged. He turned and looked at what I figured was his sister for a while, and turning back to me, he sighed and let his hand down. Even though he was still giving me eyes that would even make Dallas Winston fidgety.

"He say he wanna race?" Jemima said, I turned around to face her. "Ok, white boy. Ah'll race you." She hinted for me to follow her, and I did.

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We both stood at the very end of the field. And it didn't _really_ occur to me how large it was until now. Even though we did track meets here all the time, for me all the screaming and tension took my mind of how long the distance was and set it on just winning. But now, nobody was around. There was no pressure _there_, and it was killing me. Yeah, it sounds weird; so sue me. The _pressure_ was in the fact that I was racing against who I thought was probably one of the best sprinters in Tulsa. Maybe even in Oklahoma, I don't know. I didn't really think about it.

"To th'otha field go'." She said, pointing to the opposite field goal. Golly, her accent was thick. I imagined she was from somewhere like Alabama or something. I cracked my neck, still pretending like I was miraculously uninterested in anything, and half nodded. She looked at me, almost sneering, and knelt down. In ready position. I met her gaze and did the same. The whole time thinking, maybe if I didn't show that I was intimidated by her, then I would throw her off or something. I would soon come to realize that my hopes were wasted. Horribly.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Say the word." I answered coolly. She waited a few good seconds, just to make sure that I was tense. She was good.

"...Go." She finally said. She hadn't even finished the word before I took off. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, using all techniques I had learned in the past that I thought would be in my advantage.

_In through the nose, out through the mouth._ I told myself. _Back straight, abs relaxed._

Wind was whistling in my ears and I looked beside me to see how far ahead she was, and I almost stopped when I realized she wasn't even there. I looked in front of me to see if she was up there, and again, there was no one. For a few seconds I was filled with the pathetic, false hope that _I_ could actually beat her. But that was before I realized what was happening. She was doing the same thing she had done before in the girls' race. Giving me a head start just for giggles. So, knowing I was about to get smoked, I sped up as fast as I could, which was not much actually. I was now at the 50 yard line. And before I knew it, I heard rapid footsteps behind me, gaining fast. I begged my legs to accelerate, but they wasn't hearing any of it. Once she had caught up with me, for barely a second, she looked at me and laughed heartily and proceeded to leave me in her dust. She was more than 5 yards ahead of me when she reached the field goal.

It seemed like hours later when I finally got to the finish mark. I couldn't help but look struck dumb as she stood there, breathing normally as if she hadn't just run halfway around a football field, and chuckling at me.

As if I wasn't already humiliated enough, her friends decided to come over. I looked at them. All I saw was a mass of sneers and grins and sly remarks that I was too tired and too dizzy to figure out. I put my fists on my hips, trying to keep my composure around them. But it was impossible. My calves were burning, my thighs were screaming, my lungs were on fire, begging for air, my chest was hurting. Everything on me throbbed and seared. Finally I couldn't help it and I bent over, placing my hands on my knees, coughing and panting heavily.

I looked up at them. Jemima looked at me like she was my disappointed mother or something. Her face clearly said 'Are you kidding me? You're pathetic.' She shook her head and looked off, rolling her big eyes.

"Come on now, Jimmie Lee, you know Madea said be home 'fo the sun get too low!" One of the younger girls said. She looked after him and nodded, silently telling him that she was coming, and looked back at me. The look on her face made her look like she wanted to spit in my face. And I wouldn't have been surprised at all if she had. I stood again as she walked away. For the brief second that she stopped and was standing next to me she gave me that same look as before. As if she was ashamed of me. But she didn't even _know_ me. Why would she be disappointed? Was she _expecting_ me to do better?

I was snatched from my thoughts just at the same time I was snatched up by my shirt collar. I turned around quickly only to see that my face was inches away from none other than Ray's. Normally in that kind of situation, I would have belted him a good one in the eye, but right now I was _too_ tired _and_ _too_ scared to say anything. But I sure wasn't gonna show it.

"**How's it feel, _white boy_? Huh?**" He said. His voice was low and threatening. I didn't answer. He glared at me, and his eyes were hostile. I think he would have killed me right then if he could. "**Don't feel good, do it...**" He said. "**To be beat by a nigga?**" He finished. He glared at me for a while after that, to let it sink in before he shoved me violently away and walked away with the others.

I stared after him for a while. I never realized how disgusting that word really was. I mean, yeah I had said it before a couple of times. But now, I didn't even know. It seemed hard, and cruel. I had thought it was just a word before. But now the mere thought of that coming out of someone's mouth made me sick.

_...Nigger..._

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"Well Kid," Two-Bit said as we both made our way from the school yard to my house. "You did pretty good." He slung his arm on my shoulder again. I looked at him and laughed."

"Yeah? I must'a missed that part." I grinned. Two-Bit laughed.

"Yeah, you're right kid. She whipped you good!" He howled. I looked at him sourly.

"How much did she spot me?" I asked dead pan. He shrugged.

" 'Bout...ten seconds, I reckon." I groaned. Ten seconds. If that wasn't a self-esteem lower, I don't know what is. Ten whole seconds. Man, I felt lousy.

"Man, I gotta quit smokin'." Two-Bit hollered again.

"Sure, Ponyboy. You said that last year too, before track. You know good and well you can't ditch the weeds." He said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Please. You smoke more than any of us combined. You'd be off you're rocker in less than a week." He said, fishing another Kool out of his pocket and lighting it.

"Shut yer trap and give me one." I said. He handed the the cigarette and lit me up. So what if I was proving his point. I needed a smoke. Especially after what I had been through in the past 45 minutes.

"Well Two-Bit," I said, letting the smoke flow out of my nostrils. "I tell you what; That's the last time I ever take advice from you."

"Yeah, well, you should'a known not to take it from me in the first place." He answered.

We had been walking for about 15 minutes and I sighed. The street lights were already on, and Darry was going to want to know where I had been all day. I'd just tell him the truth. Besides the race and everything. Darry knew I liked running so he would believe me.

"So when're you gonna ask her to help you train?" Two-Bit asked. I shrugged. That was a good question. I doubted she ever wanted to see my face again after what had happened today.

"Maybe tomorrow." I answered. "Yeah, tomorrow." I said again after thinking for a bit.

"Hey Two-Bit. Keep it shut about what went down today. We were just hangin' out after school, dig?" I said as we came up on our house. He nodded and we tossed our weeds as we made our we through the fence and up to the door.

I was glad to finally be in the house when Two-Bit closed the door behind him. And I was more than glad that I didn't have any homework. Because right now, all I planned on doing was taking a shower and getting to bed.

I kicked off my shoes, smiling from the relief of my feet finally being able to breathe and silently thought to myself.

Tomorrow was gonna be a real long day...

_**Thank you once again for reading! Please don't forget to review, I really appreciate it. You'll really bring a smile to my face. But if you wish to remain a silent reader that's fine with me. As long as you keep reading, I'll be happy!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Only one review, but I can work with that! I know many people who are silent readers, but as long as you keep reading, I'll know that you haven't lost interest! Here's chapter 3!**_

**Disclaimer:**Sorry, I don't own The Outsiders or the characters, but I do own the ones that you've never heard of, because I made them up!

**Summary:**Ponyboy asks a girl to help him train for track try-outs. But as their friendship forms he'll have to witness a lot of things that he never even imagined was real. The Drama ensues.

**Ages:** Ponyboy, 14 Jimmie Lee, 15

**Runnin' Barefoot**

_Chapter: 3_

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_Tomorrow was gonna be a real long day._

Boy was I wrong. The more I thought about asking her to help me for track, the faster my classes seemed to be whipping by. That always happened. Whenever I was nervous about something, and wanted to wait to do it, time always flew by to my disadvantage. I figured it was just my luck. My lousy, no-good luck.

I looked up when the last bell rang and groaned. It had happened again. I let my head fall into my hands while everyone got up and rushed out of class for the weekend.

"Ponyboy?" I looked up when I heard Mrs. Pearson, my World Geography teacher called me. Then I had remembered; the bell had rang. I sighed to myself and grabbed my stuff, slicking my hair back with my hands and heading towards the door, until she stopped me.

"Are you alright, Ponyboy?" I turned around, looking confused.

"...Yeah." I answered. She walked up close to me and felt my forehead.

"Are you sure? You've been acting strange the entire class period. You're not sick are you?" I leaned away from her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, teach. See ya Monday." I said heading out of the door.

"Have a good weekend." She said after me. I yawned and walked out of the class, still confused, but I shrugged it off and went to find Two-Bit. I had bigger things to worry about.

I met up in the hallway with a smug looking Two-Bit.

"What are you so happy about?" I grumbled.

"Just gettin' a head start'a laughin' at ya when you embarrass yerself, kid." He cracked a grin, and I couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, since you brought it up, have you seen her anywhere?" He turned me around and pointed to the end of the hallway.

"Right down there." He said. I sighed. No, I didn't want to ask some strange black girl to help me train for track and field. But if it would help me be a stronger runner, then I had no choice. I mean, who else was gonna help me?

"I'll be outside. Brace yerself, kid." Two-Bit laughed before leaving. I grimaced at him before turning back to my goal, who was now at her poor looking, rusty locker, which was apparently stuck. Quickly I tried to numb my mind, and made my way over to her before any of her friends showed up. Especially before Ray showed up. Just the thought of him makes me want to shiver almost. I didn't of course, but you know what I mean.

Apparently she was so caught up with trying to get her locker open that she didn't see me, because when I was right next to her, her eyes were still stuck to her locker. I looked at it for a second. The paint was peeling off of it, as were most of the lockers in that hall, and the top hinges were broken. It confused me for a second, then I realized. But I didn't make a big deal of it. I just cleared my throat and spoke.

"Need some help?" I asked, she jumped out of her shoes and her books and papers went flying. I would have laughed, but she was looking at me like she had just seen a ghost. But once she realized that she hadn't, that same look of hatred and disgust was glued back onto her face as if it had never left.

I kneeled to help her pick up her things, but when I reached out to pick some of her homework papers up, she slapped my hands away, glaring at me and snatching them up herself. Right then, I wasn't really sure what to do with myself, so I stood as she continued to pick up her things.

"I'm...sorry" I managed to choke out. "I didn't mean to spook you, I just needed to...to uh ask you something." She gathered the last of her things; now they were all out of order, disheveled and messy looking.

"Ain't you embarrassed enough? I beat yo' ass before now you wanna race again?" She said in disbelief. I looked at her, and shook my head.

"No, I think I've got better sense than that." I said, trying to smile. When I saw that look still fixed on her face, I ran a hand through my hair and continued.

"I wanted to ask...for your help." I said. "You know, like, to train me, you dig?" Her expression changed from disgust, to like I had just sprouted another head.

"You must be crazy." She said, dismissing me and going back to struggling with her locker.

"Come on, you can't even _try_ and consider it?"

"Fo'what?" She asked. "I help you then what. So you can get half as good as me and get to college? What I'm supposed to get outta helpin' _you_?" She asked. I was struck dumb. She sneered at me.

"Yeah, you ain't think I knew what you was tryin' to do, did you white boy? Well I got some news f'you, cracka. I ain't stupid, so find some othah girl to try an' take advantage of, 'cause I'm the _wrong_ one." She said, once again turning to her locker, which seemed to be getting more and more difficult for her to get open.

"I never said you were stupid."

"You ain't had to." She said, not even looking at me. This girl was just shoving knives in me.

"Is that a 'no'?" She looked at me, and I knew she was getting steamed.

"I don't talk to white folks. What makes you think I'ma try an' help one beat me?"

"Hey, this ain't exactly a picnic for me either. You think I _wanted_ to come over here and ask some--

"Some no-good nigga to help you out." She finished for me.

"I was gonna say _girl_. If you would listen to me and quit shovin' words into my mouth, you would know that."

"Don't get a attitude with me, white boy."

"Who's the one gettin' an attitude? I came over here to ask you something, and you've been ignoring me and twisting my words the entire time!"

She looked at me and sighed, aggravatedly and slammed her things down on the floor. Then she looked at me, with her arms crossed, silently telling me 'I'm waiting.'

"Now, listen, 'cause this ain't exactly the easiest thing." I said. Her expression stayed the same and I continued. "Ok. No, I wasn't comfortable coming over here and asking you to help me out. And the fact that you _are_ black doesn't really help matters. I'm uncomfortable around black people. Actually, black people _terrify_ me. So it didn't really help that you had your buddy Ray rough me up back there yesterday. But I'm trying to look past that cause white or black, Jemima, you're still an..._incredible_ runner. You're_ unthinkable._ You could smoke anyone in this state, I know that. And I know me being white doesn't help much either. 'Cause I already know for a fact that you can't stand me."

"Y'think so?"

"_BUT_." I continued. "You can't just this once just pretend that that doesn't matter and help me out anyway?" I scratched my neck. Yeah, it was pretty cheesy, and it wasn't the best speech in the world, but it was better than nothing, I guess.

"No." She said simply. After all that. After I had just spilled my guts all over the floor, it was that simple for her to just brush me off. I sighed. This was going nowhere slowly.

"Why not." I asked flatly.

"Maybe you ain't heard me the _first_ time, white boy!" She snapped at me. "I ain't stupid! No mattah how much you want me t'be! You sayin' a damn speech ain't gon' change my mind. You don' want my help for _my help_. You wan' it 'cause cain't one'a you white folks _stand_ when a nigga is better than you at yo' own game. You jus' gon' have ta deal wit' it. 'Cause ain't none'a dem pretty words gon' make me help you hold me back."

"You think I'm racist, dont' you." I said. It wasn't a question.

"I _know _you are."

"Really?" I cut in. " 'Cause the only racist remarks that have been said here were from you." She tugged on her locker one last time before it flew open, and she got her bag from inside of it and shoved her things into it, before slamming it shut.

"At least I can admit I don't like white people." She said before walking away. Without thinking, (And I mean REALLY. Without thinking) I grabbed her arm and pushed her up against the locker.

"Are you out of your mind? Have you even looked at me?"

"Are you crazy?" She yelled. I didn't listen.

"Do I look like I even have the _right_ to be prejudice?"

"Get yo' hands off me!"

"JIMMIE LEE!" A voice boomed from down the hall. We both looked over to see one of her friends that were on the track the day before. Thankfully, it wasn't Ray. But that didn't mean that I was less intimidated. I shoved my hands into my pockets as he came over, sizing me up as she stared at me like I was insane.

"You botherin' her, white boy?" His voice was already hostile, and it was almost painfully obvious.

"He stood right in front of me, and it was now _me _who was up against the lockers. He turned to Jemima again.

"He botherin' you, Jimmie?" He asked. She didn't even have time to answer, and I didn't even have time to blink before he belted me a good one on the jaw. The salty taste of my own blood was thick in my mouth. I could feel my bottom tooth loosen almost instantly and he didn't even wait for me to react before he belted me again in the eye.

"Johnny QUIT!" Jemima called from behind us, but I think it's safe to say that neither of us were listening. But while he was a little distracted from her calling him I snuck a good one to his stomach. He doubled over and I hit him again on the nose. But he got up, a thick stream of blood was dripping like crazy down his mouth to his chin and falling on the floor. Next thing I knew he kneed me in the stomach and I yelled in spite of myself. It knocked the wind out of me pretty good; I had to gasp to breathe. So you could imagine how I felt when I felt his hands go around my neck, and when I felt myself lift off of the ground. I tried my best to pry his hands from around me, but it wasn't any use. I was starting to feel light-headed and I was getting weaker. I could see the black creeping into the corners of my vision and I knew I was gonna pass out pretty soon, but just like that, he let me go, and I drooped to the ground.

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By the time I did get all of my senses back, my eye was purple and blood was filling my mouth. For a second I forgot that I was still in the school building because I spit it out everywhere. But once I did remember, I didn't care anymore.

Jemima looked at me and knelt down in front of me.

"You alright?" I looked at her and I could almost laugh, but I was in too much pain. My head was killing me, my jaw hurt, the whole left side of my face was throbbing, and the pain in my stomach I couldn't even _begin_ to describe to you.

"What the hell do you think?" I said, pushing her out of the way and getting up. I had to hunch over a little and cover my stomach.

"Hey, boy!" She snapped. "I didn't ask him to beat you up!"

"Shut up!" I hollered at her. I felt sick right after I did it. I don't like being harsh to girls. I can't stand it. But I had taken one too many beatings over her and I was in a whirl of pain. "This is exactly what you wanted. Since I'm racist, and every OTHER white person on the planet is racist! You're right. Everyone's out to get you. Poor little you." She stood there with her nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed at me. "Fine. Don't help me. See if I care." I said. I walked...or...limped over to her locker and slammed my fist against it, causing it to bounce open easily. And began to walk...limp...away.

I wasn't even halfway down the hallway before I tripped and fell flat on my face. Actually, within the next few seconds I realized that it was actually Jemima who tripped me. I groaned and turned over to be met with her finger in my face.

"Fine." She said between her teeth. "I'll help you, white boy. Two conditions." I gestured for her to continue. "One: Don't you _ever_ put yo' hands on my again. Two: Once track starts, I don't even wanna see you in the same hall as me again, you hear?" I tried my best to nod and she stood back up, brushing her skirt off.

"You meet me outside'a school Saturday mornin'. If you're late, the whole deal is off, you hear me?" Again, I made a sad attempt to nod and she stepped over me and left. It took a while to get up without hurting my stomach, but finally I did, and made a slow limp to the front of the school.

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It didn't really surprise me when Two-Bit began to laugh hysterically when he saw me. In fact, I almost expected it.

"Well, hot damn Pony, she whipped you one good!" He cried. He got up from the ground and we started to walk home.

"Shut yer trap, Two-Bit, _she_ didn't do this to me."

"Oh well. What're you gonna tell Darry?" He asked after he finally stopped laughing at me.

"I don't care. I just wanna get to a bed." I said. By then I had started walking up right. My gut was still killing me but I wasn't going to let other people see it.

"So, what'd she say?" I shrugged.

"She told me to meet her in the front of the school on Saturday."

"Well. Good for you kid." He said. "What're yall eatin' tonight, I'm starvin'."

I had tuned him out by then. It didn't really matter that I had just received the beating of a lifetime. It just meant I was one step closer to being a better track runner.

_**Thank you again for reading! If there are grammatical errors or spelling errors, I apologize, I was kind of in a hurry, but I will fix them as soon as I have the free time. Thanks again, and please don't forget to review!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Wow! Thanks to all of you sooo much! I NEVER expected to get this many reviews...well, I did kinda ask for 'em didn't I. But Still! Thank you all very much, I'll personally respond to your reviews probably in the next chapter, but you don't even know how nice that makes me feel! That really made my day, thanks again, and here's the next Chapter for you!**_

**Disclaimer:** Sorry, I don't own The Outsiders or the characters, but I do own the ones that you've never heard of, because I made them up!

**Summary:** Ponyboy asks a girl to help him train for track try-outs. But as their friendship forms he'll have to witness a lot of things that he never even imagined was real. The Drama ensues.

**Ages:** Ponyboy, 14 Jimmie Lee, 15

**Runnin' Barefoot**

_Chapter: Four_

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_It didn't really matter that I had just received the beating of a lifetime. It just meant I was one step closer to being a better track runner._

"Darry, it's fine, geez!" I complained. As soon as he saw me walk through the door he made me put a hot rag on my eye, and an ice pack on my jaw. That's Darry for you: tough as nails, but he could turn into a caring mother and a professional nurse in two seconds. Soda looked at me and had a grin half the size of Texas on his face.

"Boy, Pony, someone really gave it to ya, huh?"

"Come on Darry, let the kid wear 'em. Bruises never hurt no one." Two-Bit piped up with a beer in his hand. " 'Sides, it makes him look tough. 'Specially that one on his eye. I bet that one hurt like hell, didn't it, Ponyboy?" He laughed.

"You bet your life it did." I grumbled. That guy was extremely heavy handed. My tooth was still loose from that blow to my jaw. But, I can take a good beating. I'm not sure if that's an advantage or a disadvantage, but it was a fact.

"I don't care _how_ tough it looks. Yer gonna _keep_ it on there 'till that swellin' goes down, you got that Pony?" He said, walking through the living room and putting on a shirt. "We're prob'ly gonna have to pull that tooth too..." He trailed. Sitting down next to Sodapop on the sofa. I knew he probably didn't want to, but we sure couldn't afford a trip to the dentist.

"Who'd you get into it with anyway, Pony? You never told us." Soda asked. He looked at me and there was a gleam in his eye. I wasn't sure what it was at first, but then all at once, I knew what it was. He was proud of me. Both him _and_ Darry were. I got the living daylights beaten out of me, and I had taken it like it was nothing. I was _still_ taking it like a pro. A swollen eye and a messed up bottom jaw don't really start to hurt until well after you get them, but I didn't show that I was in pain. At least not that much. I was happy that they were proud of me, but I wasn't happy that I had to be pounded for it. So it was a kind of bittersweet thing, I guess.

"Just some soc." I lied. "His girlfriend couldn't get her locker open, so I did it for her. And he just came up swingin' at me." Well, it wasn't a total lie. I wasn't sure if Johnny was Jemima's boyfriend or not. But it was pretty obvious to me now that she and her friends were in a very tight-nit group. Like me and the gang. Just then something caught my attention. _Johnny_. His name was _Johnny_.

But he couldn't have been any more opposite than Johnny. Johnny was small and quiet. _That_ Johnny was about as big as Steve, and his voice boomed from all the way down the hall. Johnny was shy. _That_ Johnny...well, I'm not too sure if he was shy or not, but I didn't think so from how _I_ met him. Johnny was sensitive and didn't really get into scraps unless there was no avoiding it. From what I could tell, _this_ Johnny picked fights from whoever decided to mess with his friends. Johnny would fight for anyone of us too, but still...after knowing Johnny for so long, that name didn't really seem to suit anyone but him. It was like he made a whole definition for the name Johnathon, and then the other Johnny came up and defied it in less than a minute. I dunno, maybe it was just the way that I thought about it. I didn't really know Johnny.

Maybe he was _just like_ Johnny. Maybe they had a gang exactly like ours, only in some other alternate universe sort of way. Maybe Johnny was Johnny. Maybe around his other friends he was shy and quiet, and he had an abusive alcoholic father who beat him every time he saw him. Maybe he had a deadbeat mom who couldn't even stand the thought of him and kicked him out of the house every other night, but didn't show it around others because he had to keep up the illusion that he was ruff and tuff. Maybe he came to Jemima to talk to her, like Johnny did me. And maybe he felt that he had no other reason to live except for his friends. Maybe on the inside he was just a tired little puppy in the middle of the street who had been kicked too many times, and didn't have any love in his life except for the kind that his friends gave to him.

Maybe Ray was Dallas. Tall and lean, and heartless. Maybe he was just as cold and hateful as Dally was. Maybe he had been thrown into the clink when he was 10 just like Dallas. Maybe all of the hatred and racism that was beaten into him and his friends and family had driven him to become cold and mean. Maybe now he hated everything and everyone because he didn't know how else to get rid of all his anger. Maybe he took his rage out on himself and the world, and fought everyone that even looked at him the wrong way. Maybe he was just a cruel thug that was headed nowhere and was going there fast. Just like Dally...

"Ponyboy?" I heard Two-Bit say. I mean, I heard him, but I didn't listen. I was too caught up in my thoughts now. It was like he was far away; his voice seemed distant. I could hear him, but I couldn't, you know?

_Maybe they had a Two-Bit too, who only went to school for kicks. Maybe he was funny, and always had to have the last word..._

"What's wrong with 'im?" Two-Bit said again. Sodapop looked up at him, and then over at me. My eyes were downcast, and my eyebrows were furrowed, and I was chewing. He nodded and grinned.

"He's thinkin'." He said. "Happens almost everyday, ever since he was a baby. You'll be talkin' to him, then all of a sudden he quits talkin' and looks out into space like that." Soda slapped his knee. "Boy howdy, if that boy doesn't have an imagination, I don't know who does." Two-Bit looked at me again, with a confused smile.

"Don't worry. He'll snap out of it in a few minutes." Soda said, turning back to the t.v.

Maybe they had a Steve too. Maybe he had some complicated hairstyle. Maybe he dropped out of school too, and knew everything there was to know about cars. Maybe he worked at some old gas station on the other side of town. The side of town we never went to. I think it was about right then when something dawned on me. Something that literally scared the hell out of me. Something that made me question reality in all it's existance.

Maybe **_Jemima_** was _**me**._

"Are you sure he's alright?" Two-Bit asked. "Maybe it was that lick to the head he got. You sure it didn't mess him up?"

"Yeah, Two-Bit, I'm sure. Don't worry about it. Just give it 5 minutes. Maybe even less."

Maybe _she_ was the youngest in the group. Maybe _she_ liked to think and write and look at the sunset like I did. Maybe _she_ had an older brother or sister that was unbelievable good looking, that made people stop in the street just to stare at them. Maybe they dropped out of school just like Soda did. And had to make a living on a full-time minimum wage job. Maybe everyone loved them like they did Soda. And maybe _she_ loved them as much as _I_ loved Soda.

Maybe she had another brother or sister who stopped right after their senior year in high school. Maybe they had to work two jobs just to keep her family together. Maybe they treated her like a little kid and she had to be in the house before midnight, and made her get good grades in school and keep out of trouble in the mean time.

Maybe she didn't want to be labeled as someone below average. Like me. Maybe she was just mad at everyone because they looked down on her just because of what color or status she was. Maybe every time she walked down the street people would give her mean looks and and mumble or yell out 'Nigger', or 'Coon'. Just like they mumbled or hollered 'Greaser'. Or 'Hood' to me. Maybe she was the only one out of her gang who actually had a chance of making it out of here, but it seemed impossible the way society was around here. Maybe she was just as good at school as I was, getting A's and B's, but having no one even care because she was the color that she was. Maybe she was just mean because she knew that people would always treat her like dirt just because she couldn't change the way she was, and everyone thought she was the scum of the earth because of it. And maybe her parents died a long time ago, and it made her that much more mean because she lost the ones that loved and cared for her the most.

I started to feel my stomach drop and my heart get heavy. I'm not sure if it was guilt, or just hurt. But I knew that someone actually knew exactly how I felt about everything that was going on in my life. And it was a _black girl_.

Maybe she knew that she wouldn't get anywhere because of her smarts because no one paid attention to them and just assumed that she was dumb. So she turned to track. She liked to run, so maybe she used that for her advantage, like I did. So that _maybe_ she could have a chance at something that no one else in her life did. To get somewhere.

By then I had finally realized why she was the way she was towards me. I would act the exact same way, if not worse, if some rich socy boy came up to me and asked for my help for something. It would make _me_ jump to conclusions too. I would think he was just trying to use me so that he would be better than me and use it towards his advantage and _my_ demise. Now I knew. And I had ridiculed her for it. I felt lousy. I had yelled at her and put my hands on her for something that I would have done in the same situation. I was a hypocrite, I felt, _lousy._

"Hey Ponyboy!" I finally snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Darry yell from the kitchen. I looked up at him, and looked outside. I couldn't believe it had gotten so dark in only a few minutes.

"I've been callin' you for ten minutes, come and get dinner before it gets cold."

_Ten minutes?_ I thought to myself. But I hadn't even been home for 5 minutes...

I got up and went into the kitchen, when I was once again, weirded out. Johnny, Dallas and Steve were there, all getting plates too...but..._when did they get here_?

"Did yall just get in?" Johnny and Steve looked at each other, then back at me.

"No..." Johnny said slowly. "Pony, we've been here for almost two hours."

"Wha..?" I said, then turned when I heard Two-Bit from the refrigerator.

"I told you." He said, grabbing another beer out of it, and kicking it closed. "That hit messed him up." He chuckled. Soda looked at him and grinned then looked back at me.

"Don't worry about it, Ponyboy. Just get yer food 'fore it gets cold."

I shook it off and grabbed my plate. I sat back down in the living room and started thinking again. I couldn't help it. My mind is the kind that wanders. Mom told me that, about a year before she and dad died.

I had heard that somewhere in the world, there was someone that was exactly like you. I would have NEVER in my life, even imagined that my person would be a black girl. Not ever.

_**Thanks for reading once again! I think this is my favorite chapter, I hope you like it too! Not a long author's note, but don't forget to review! Lots-o-Love to everyone. Peace!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Hello Everyone! Thanks again for the wonderful reviews! This way I can count on you guys to jump on me if ever I make a mistake! Not a long Author's Note. I have some reviews to respond to!**_

**Lintuciel:** Thank you! I'm glad that you're still interested. I can tell I'm going to see more reviews from you, lol. But I guess you'll see if Pony's and Jimmie's relationship grow over time in the story!

**Duranie For Life:** Why, thank you, I'm flattered! Here's your update, I will make you wait no longer!

**Bambola:** Oh I just love your reviews! You know how to review a story WONDERFULLY! Thanks, I hope you keep reading and if I slip up, I know you'll be the first one to warn me! Here's the next chapter for you!

**Rugrats101:** I don't get it either, but people fear things that are different from themselves. It's one of the many flaws of mankind. But I'm glad things have changed too...not all that much, but they are a lot better.

**JoHnNy CaStLe:** Thank you! I most certainly will, and I hope you keep reading and reviewing!

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_**I know I didn't respond to each of your reviews but thank you anyway, and I hope you all keep reading and enjoying the story, which reminds me...here's chapter 5!**_

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**Disclaimer:** Sorry, I don't own The Outsiders or the characters, but I do own the ones that you've never heard of, because I made them up!

**Summary:** Ponyboy asks a girl to help him train for track try-outs. But as their friendship forms he'll have to witness a lot of things that he never even imagined was real. The Drama ensues.

**Ages:** Ponyboy, 14

Jimmie Lee, 15

**Runnin' Barefoot**

_Chapter: Five_

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_I had heard that somewhere in the world, there was someone that was exactly like you. I would have NEVER in my life, even imagined that my person would be a black girl. Not ever._

Saturday sure came around quick. I was still asleep at 9:00. I heard Soda and Darry from down the hall but I didn't care. I was physically _and_ mentally exhausted from the previous days. I just turned over and pulled the sheets further over my head. But while I was trying to get back to sleep, Darry's voice cut through my unconsciousness:

"Hey Soda, I gotta run to the grocery store. Get Pony up so he can eat; I'll be back in a minute."

It took only half a second to process in my brain.

_Run_.

I shot up in a second, and cursed blue and green when I saw what time it was. Soda opened the door to my room and not a second later pressed himself against the wall to avoid me running over him while I darted to the bathroom.

"I guess he's up." I heard him mumble, going back into the living room to watch t.v. before him, Steve and Darry had to head off to work.

I turned on the shower and two minutes later I stepped out still wet and brushed my teeth. I guess Soda could hear me from the living room.

"You in a hurry or somethin', Pony?" He laughed. I was busy trying to brush my teeth, grease my hair, and dry myself off at the same time and didn't answer him.

I threw a towel around me and ran back into me and Soda's room to try and find something to wear. I looked in my closet and pulled out my track uniform from last year. I put it on as fast as I could and put a sweatshirt on over it so people wouldn't look at me weird. Well...at least not weirder than usual. I put on some running sneakers and headed out the door.

''Were you goin', Pony?'' Soda hollered when I whizzed past him.

''Out runnin'.'' I said. ''Tell Darry I'll be back in a few hours!'' I yelled, running out of the door and heading towards the school as fast as I could.

It took about five minutes, but I finally got there, huffing and puffing like crazy. I had booked it before on some occasions, but never like that.

I looked around for her and she was nowhere. But when I heard a voice behind me, I turned and saw here standing a few feet away.

"I told you don't come late, and you do it anyway." She said, beginning to walk away. I sped up after her.

"Hey!" I hollered after her. "Where ya goin'?"

"_I_'_m_ goin' home. You might wanna go too." She said, storming off. I couldn't believe her. I really couldn't. I mean really! Did she not notice that I got the tar beaten out of me _twice_ over this whole deal, and now she expected me to just think that she could just walk away?

"HEY!" I yelled after her. She stopped almost instantly, maybe I scared her, but turned around just as cool as she ever was.

"You did NOT get me up at 9:00 on a Saturday to walk away from me."

"And I ain't get up at 6:30 to wait 2 damn hours for you!"

"Well leavin' now isn't gonna do anything but us _both_ steamed." I said matter-of-factly. She still stood there, with her arms crossed. Man, this broad was stubborn. I sighed. "Look...I'm here now, ain't I?"

We spent about 2 minutes just standing there all quiet. Finally I guess she broke, because she huffed and let her arms hang by her side.

"Let's go." She said, more than a little angry. "And if you late tomorrow, this whole damn thing is off, and don't even think I'm jokin' with you either."

So we started walking. And when I say that, I _mean_ it. . First we were just walking around the town. Street lights and gas stations were everywhere and it seemed pretty normal. But they faded away after a while and after about 20 minutes I didn't know where we were anymore. It all looked like back country or something. There were trees and fences here and there, some houses were around, but mostly little lonely shacks that looked like they were from slave times, and old discarded trashcans and heaps of tires and old clothes. The sky was all wide and open, and there wasn't any streets anymore. Just old dead grass and a thin little orange dirt road.

"We almost there." She said after we had been walking near a half hour. I guess it was about 10 minutes later when the little shacks stopped and the little dirt road opened into what looked like some sort of home made running track. It was about half the size of a football field, and kind of crooked, and just behind it was a bunch of woods. I was pretty confused.

"What is this?" I finally asked. She turned around, her dark face was already glistening under the heat.

"This is where I'm gon' train you."

I looked at her and stepped closer to the little track. "Did you make this?"

"I helped make it." She corrected me. "Why, you got a problem with it?" I rolled my eyes.

"Did I say I had a problem with it?" She looked at me and said something I couldn't make out.

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We were out there for who knows how long. All I know is that I was as tired as I had ever been in my life. Jimmie Lee had made me race her again, but I don't even need to explain how that turned out. Then she made me run suicides, and run around the track with her mentally timing me. I didn't even need her timing me to know that I was rusty. I was 3 whole seconds behind my average middle school time, if I did the math right. But I could blame that on the smoking for now. I felt _real_ lousy. Darry had told me to cut down if I planned on having any kind of athletic future, but I guess he's right. I just don't use my head. I needed to quit. Bad. But it would never happen.

Jimmie cut me out of my thinking. We were nowhere near being close to home and my legs were quivering like crazy. I tried not to show it, but my guess was it wasn't working. I looked over at her. She looked angry. But then, every time I saw her she looked angry. I could almost hear what she was thinking. I was a waste of time. I couldn't even run as fast as I could in junior high, _and_ I smoked.

"I Just haven't run in a while, that's all. I'll get better." I said. I was getting pretty steamed. I looked over at her and quickly realized that she didn't believe me. It could've been because she could tell I was lying myself, or it could've been that we had only been out for a day and I was already on the verge of collapse. Who knows. All I knew was that this was starting to look like a lost cause to the both of us.

I finally got home at around 5:30. I felt like I was about to die. I hadn't eaten anything the entire day and I was dehydrated. But on top of all of that I was tired. And I knew I probably wouldn't even be able to walk tomorrow.

Two-Bit poked his head in from the kitchen and saw me collapsed on the couch. My eyes were closed but I could tell he was grinning.

"So how'd it go, Mr. Curtis? On your way t'being a track star yet?"

"Put a sock in it, Two-Bit."

"Who's gonna make me?"

"Oh believe me, I would take the pleasure of doin' it myself if I could walk."

"That's just wishful thinkin' Ponyboy." He went on talking, but I didn't pay him any attention. It didn't take five minutes for me to drift off. I was exhausted.

But it was only the first day. That wasn't anything compared to the weeks that were ahead of me.

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_**Please forgive me for this chapter not being my best work. I just wanted to get this updated as soon as possible. I promise you this will get more interesting, but I must set the foundation for this story otherwise it'll just fall apart. Thank you for reading anyway and please review if you wish to tell me/ask me anything!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Hello, Everyone! Well, it's been quite a year for me so far. Bronchitis and a lung infection, along with a kidney infection! Oh well. As long as I'm bed-ridden I might as well update! Besides I made you guys wait WAAAY too long last time! )**_

**Disclaimer:**Sorry, I don't own The Outsiders or the characters, but I do own the ones that you've never heard of, because I made them up!

**Summary:** Ponyboy asks a girl to help him train for track try-outs. But as their friendship forms he'll have to witness a lot of things that he never even imagined was real. The Drama ensues.

**Ages:** Ponyboy, 14 Jimmie Lee, 15

**Runnin' Barefoot**

_Chapter: 6_

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I was exhausted. But it was only the first day. That wasn't anything compared to the weeks that were ahead of me.

I guess that kind of goes without saying, though. By the next week I was completely out of it. I was hacking my brains out during school, and my entire body was completely numb well before then. I was even walking slower than usual. And what was worst of all was that I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.

Two-Bit was, not surprisingly, having a ball with all of this. He didn't pass up a single moment to make fun of me and how much I was slipping. But once he figured it really bothered me, he eased up a little. But very little.

I wish that in the midst of all this I could say that I was at least improving. But in all reality I wasn't. We had been out 4 times already and I hadn't gotten any better. Jemima had questioned my seriousness on the matter more than once and it bugged the hell out of me. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I was doing everything the same as I had before. But for some reason it just wasn't working. I had talked to Johnny about it a couple of times. He didn't really understand though. He wasn't really into anything athletic like. All he did was shrug when I asked him. We were out in the lot. It was pretty late, but not that late. Not late enough for Darry to ring me like a wet rag, anyway. Johnny had started a little flicker with some twigs and a match and I sat in front of it poking at it with a stick.

"Maybe yer gettin' sick." He suggested. I looked at him then shrugged. The nights were starting to get real frosty. But I didn't think that was the problem.

"I dunno." I mumbled. "Maybe."

"Maybe..." Johnny started.

"Maybe what?" He looked at me like he knew I wasn't going to like what he was going to say.

"Maybe you should quit smokin'." I snorted.

"You know I can't do that, Johnny." I said.

"Well golly, Ponyboy, what am I supposed to say?" He said defensively. His voice was still small, but I could tell the subject was annoying him. "I never did get why you liked to run so much. Don't make sense at all if y'ask me. Maybe you just don't like it no more."

I was getting more steamed by the minute. I rolled my eyes and threw the stick into the fire, making it spark more. I stood up and brushed my pants off.

"I'm goin' to the house. You gonna stay here?" I asked a little more sourly than I wanted to.

"No I'll stay here. I dunno, I'll probably stop by later." He answered.

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Johnny never did stop by. By the time I got to the front porch I had figured that he wouldn't. I knew I should've felt bad. I wanted to feel bad, but I couldn't. There were too many things on my mind to think about Johnny. I know it sounds kind of bad but it was the truth. Besides, Johnny had spent the night by himself plenty of times. I knew he'd be ok.

I walked in to see Darry sitting in the living room. I was a little surprised to be honest. It was pretty rare to see Darry just sitting around anywhere, even on a Friday night. Usually he was at work, or in his room, or out, or working out on the weight set, or ironing, doing laundry, anything. But never just sitting. But like I said, I had too many things on my mind to think about it. But this time I didn't have a choice.

"Hey Ponyboy, come here for a minute." He said.

"What do you want?" I asked. He looked up at me.

"Sit down, I wanna talk to you." I looked around and sighed. I was tired. All I wanted to do was just go to bed. I didn't feel like talking.

"Can't we talk about it later?" I asked.

"No. Sit." I sighed again, making sure that Darry heard it, and sat down on the couch facing him.

"Sodapop told me about you slipping up on your running." I groaned and stood. That was the last thing that I felt like talking about then, especially with Darry.

"Come on, Darry, I don't feel like talkin' about it!" I pleaded with him tiredly. His voice became more stern, and his eyes harder.

"I don't care if you don't feel like talking about it, I don't feel like watchin' my kid brother mopin' around all day everyday! Sit. Down." He said for the last time. I knew that I wasn't going to win this one. There is no winning when it came to arguing with Darry, I had learned that a long time ago. But that didn't mean I didn't try when the opportunity presented itself.

"Now, if you don't feel like talkin', fine. Don't. Just listen, got it?" I rested my head on my fist and nodded.

"Got it."

"Soda told me that you told 'im you were gettin' rusty. And you know how he is, he ain't really took sports all that seriously. He's all about kicks, that kid. So he came to me and asked me to talk to you."

I sat up at that minute and started to really pay attention to him.

"Now believe it or not, I had some problems too, with football."

"No, Darry. You?" I said dead-pan. I didn't want to show how much I was really interested in what he was saying. Darry? Having trouble with football? Ok, maybe if he told anyone else that, they wouldn't be that shocked, everybody slips up now and then. But when it came to me...well, that's like telling a little kid that Lassie was an alcoholic or something like that. I mean as hard as he was on me about my grades and homework and track, you'd think that he was always on top of his stuff. He was the captain and everything all through his senior year. And I couldn't help but get the feeling that I was the only one that he had ever told this to. Now I was leaning closer to him with my elbows on my knees and my chin resting on my fists.

"Yup." He said. "Just when I got to my junior year. That was my first year on the Varsity team, and boy if I wasn't shakin' in my pants when I went to our first practice."

"What happened?" I asked. About right then, I think Darry unknowingly stopped talking to me and started talking to himself. I only say that because he stopped looking at me and looked out into space, with that expression that one only gets when they are looking back on a nice memory. His face even softened. The icy frown that was usually glued to his face when he was trying to teach me a lesson was gone. His eyes were grinning and I almost jumped out of my pants when he chuckled. He looked up at me with a grin a half a mile wide on his face, and it made me grin too. This was the Darry that I used to get along with. The Darry that was here before mom and dad died. I was struck dumb.

"I screwed up." He said. He laughed for a while after that. "Big time. I missed almost every pass, I tripped about 5 times, my throwing was off..." He looked off again and shook his head. "Man, the assistant coach was ready to get rid of me right then and there."

"So...what happened." My good mood started to fade. This story wasn't helping as much as I thought it would.

"Well." He sighed. "I stayed after practice and talked to the coach. Turns out I was just too stressed out. Our varsity team had a perfect season the year before. That was a big load for all the new guys."

"What did you do?"

"I stayed after practice. The coach made me do everything from the basics. Had to relearn, Ponyboy. And then...well, you know the rest." He said, standing.

"When did he make you Captain, Darry?" I asked after he started to his room. He turned back around with that same grin.

"The next week." He answered. "G'night, Pony." He said.

"Night." I answered back.

I heard his door shut and started to wonder why I didn't ask Darry about it in the first place. He was the only one out of the whole gang that would really understand, and he was the last person I would've asked. I would have even asked Dallas before I went to Darry. And when I realized that I felt the guiltiest I had felt in a while. Me and Darry had drifted apart so much after mom and dad died that I wouldn't even go to him for advice anymore. I wouldn't even go to my own older brother for advice. Boy did that make me feel like trash. I sat back and closed my eyes, thinking about what he had said.

Maybe I needed to get back to the basics...

**Well, there's another chapter! Again, I don't think that this is my best work, but I really didn't want to keep ANYBODY waiting as long as I made you wait last time. So please review and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: There's no way I can apologize enough for neglecting this story for 3 years. My only excuse, which is not one at all, is that I have been writing bit by bit, and time has flown quite quickly for me. But rest assured, I am absolutely determined to finish this, epilogue and all. So how about I start by giving you chapter 7.**_

**Disclaimer:** Sorry, I don't own The Outsiders or the characters, but I do own the ones that you've never heard of, because I made them up!

**Summary:** Ponyboy asks a girl to help him train for track try-outs. But as their friendship forms he'll have to witness a lot of things that he never even imagined was real. The Drama ensues.

**Ages:** Ponyboy, 14 Jimmie Lee, 15

**Runnin' Barefoot**

_Chapter: 7_

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_Maybe I needed to get back to the basics._

I got up early the next weekend. It was cool outside and there weren't any clouds in the sky. It was perfect. It sure helped my mood a lot, too. I was going to take Darry's advice and talk to Jemima. To tell you the truth, I doubted she would listen, but I was going to try anyway. I got dressed quickly and decided to get a bowl of cereal before I left.

"Hey, wash that out before you scram today, kiddo." Darry hollered.

"Where've you been runnin' off to everyday, anyway, Ponyboy?" Steve asked. He was looking at me funny; like he was sure the next words out of my mouth were going to be a lie.

"Why're you so interested?" I answered with my mouth half-full, "As long as I'm not buggin' you and Soda, you should be just dandy." I got up and put the bowl in the sink before leaving all of them to get ready for work. The last thing I needed was Steve Randle bugging me at seven in the morning.

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I didn't bother waiting outside of the school for Jemima. I was almost an hour early, so I just jogged out to the track by myself. Besides, this early, there wouldn't be anybody out to start any trouble, at least I assumed, so I went on ahead.

It took forever to get there, it always took forever to get there, but I was surprised to see that she was there already, sitting and stretching. She looked up at me like she was surprised, unpleasantly of course.

"What you doin' here?" She asked. Her voice was still as hateful and hostile as ever.

"You're trainin' me, remember?" I smiled. I think because I knew it would aggravate her.

"You got a whole hour, boy." I could hear her getting mad already. I'd started to notice that, whenever she got mad, her accent would get thicker. Where was that accent from?

"I know;" I shrugged, "I thought we could talk." She hadn't even looked up to face me again.

"What the hell you wanna talk to me about, I ain't come here to talk." She was cutting me sharp already.

"Yeah, well like you said, we got a whole hour. So we might as well. Scoot over." I said, walking up next to her. She didn't, so I sat down beside her, and at first pretended not to notice the glare she was giving me, or the fact that she moved away from me. But it started to bug me really fast.

"Why do you hate me so much, Jemima?" She grunted and pushed herself up.

"What?"

"You hate me." I said a little louder this time, "You _hate_ me. Why?"

"I don't hate you."

"You can't stand me." I corrected.

"I wouldn't be out here if I hated you." She grumbled, dusting off her legs. I watched her for a while and the anger melted away from me. I couldn't help but snicker.

"Well I just pray you forgive me for doin' so, Ms. Walker, but I have to disagree."

To this day I don't think she knows I heard her chuckle, but I did, and I'll never forget it. Hell, I wasn't even sure she was human until that very moment.

"You know, I may not be anything but a country old greaser kid, but I thought maybe we could be friends, Jimmie." She looked around for a while, then back at me.

"Look, boy."

"_Pony_boy." She cocked an eyebrow high enough to rival ol' TwoBit.

"We both already got friends. You asked me to help you run like me, now do you still want me to coach you or not?"

"Alright, alright." I was getting annoyed, and she could tell, because she walked off and started mumbling to herself.

"Come on, you ready?" She finally asked. I sighed. I really needed a weed.

"Yeah, I guess so." I said. I pushed myself up off the ground and yawned. I think it was only then that I realized the future consequences for getting out there so early. When my eyes opened again I saw her looking at me all strange. It made me fidget.

"What?"

"Why do you have all that grease in your head?" I looked at her dumb when she asked me that. I ran my hand through my head by habit, but I really didn't know what to do, or say.

" 'Cause I like it. I'm a greaser; it's how I wear it, alright?"

"I was just askin'." She said, looking as innocently as I'd ever seen her.

"Well don't." I said that a lot meaner than I wanted to, but I like my hair. It took a long time to get it how I wanted, and I took what she said in offense.

"Alright. Well, since you here and all," She stabbed, "You wouldn't mind if I gave you a piece of friendly advice, would ya." I shrugged.

"Go ahead." She looked at me for a while, up and down. Naturally my back straightened, and I lifted my head higher.

"Gimme them shoes." I looked down and back up at her.

"What?"

"Take off your shoes, I said!" She yelled. "Come on, I ain't got all day!" I rolled my eyes and took them off, and my stocking feet so they wouldn't get dirty, and handed them to her.

"Hey!" I yelled after she snatched them from me and threw them into the woods, "What'd you do that for?"

"Look at your feet." She spat, "I ain't never seen a man-child that had prettier feet than me." I looked down at them. I wouldn't have called them pretty. My mom never liked any of us to play without our shoes on, and it was just a rule we kept to when she and dad died. So they were pale, and they definitely weren't as rough and calloused as hers, but I'd never thought they were pretty. And I felt like she was calling me a pansy.

"Can I have my shoes back?" I asked.

"You can have 'em when I give 'em to you." She dismissed me, turning away and starting off.

"When will that be?" She stopped in mid-step and turned slowly to face me.

"When you learn how to run." Glory, that felt like a gut punch if anything ever did.

"I know how to run." She laughed, which bothered me even more. I did know how to run. I was a good runner. I just needed help is all.

"Then get 'em and go home." I just stood there and sighed. I was done trying to talk to her. So much for that, thanks Darry. I could only take so many insults before I really got steamed. "Good. Now make a lap."

I shot off without a word. That was the hardest I'd ever run until then. I'm not completely sure why I pushed so hard, but I think it was partly because I wanted to show Jimmie that I wasn't a joke, and partly because I knew if I didn't start doing better now, then I just probably wasn't going to get better. Anyway, what I do know for sure is that once I got around the bend I stepped on a rock, and I immediately knew why we never played outside without shoes. It felt like someone took a hammer and nail to the middle of my foot. But I can honestly say that I ignored that, until my other foot found a piece of glass to land on. I hollered and collapsed, and believe me we when I tell you I've never cussed like that in my life. If I had been in my right mind, I would have watched my language, but I wasn't. I cursed until I was blue in the face. There was glass in my foot and blood everywhere else. And the other foot was already swelling from landing on the blasted boulder. I pulled the glass out and threw it, cursing it until it landed far off in the trees.

"Get up." I didn't even noticed Jimmie standing over me.

"What?"

"Get up, you ain't finished." I looked at her, wide eyed even against the bright sun.

"You're really crazy." I said, pushing myself off the ground. "You are." I almost lost my balance trying to keep off of my cut foot.

"I told you to finish this lap; you done already messed up my count hoppin' there like a frog!"

"No. I'm going home. I've had enough of you. I can train by myself. And not have to be insulted and bleed to death either." I mumbled the last part to myself. And once again, I hobbled away from Jimmie Lee Walker.

Behind me, I didn't see the horror that struck her when she saw the red pool that became a trail behind me.

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I must have been madder than I thought. I still don't know how I made it all the way back to my front porch before realizing that I was still barefoot, but it happened, and I almost didn't care. But I wasn't entirely out of my right mind. I knew to shower and bandage my foot and clean the stains out of the carpet before Darry came home. Before I even knew it, I was spilling my guts out to Johnny about everything that happened. I couldn't tell Darry without telling him everything. He'd have my head if he found out where I'd been going. But Johnny could keep his mouth shut without laughing at me like Two-Bit.

I still didn't tell him _everything_. And instead of admitting to myself that I was afraid of how my buddies would react to my asking someone like her to help me, I convinced myself that smaller details didn't matter.

"So, what'd you do?" he asked. We were on our way to the DX station to see Soda and get a few Pepsi bottles.

"I left!" I kicked a rock on the ground with my wounded foot while we walked. I never particularly cared for them before, but I hated them bitterly now. "I swear Johnnycakes, I've never been so mad in my life."

"Yeah, I can see that." We were both quiet for a while after that. But our footsteps and the sounds of cars was enough to get us there.

--

They met us outside and I laughed. They hardly ever worked for two guys who loved their jobs.  
Steve gave me the same look he'd given me that morning and I glared right back at him. I might've kept my hatred for Steve silent, but I sure wasn't scared of him.

"So what's your kid brother been up to, Sodapop?" He asked, eyeing me the whole time, "He doesn't tag along as much as he used to." I balled my hands into fists and started turning red, I was so mad.

"He's been conditioning for track," Soda answered before he slung his arm over my shoulder, "Ain't ya, Pony?" Johnny was looked at me funny. His eyebrows were together and his big black eyes were narrowed.

"Really? Where, at the school?" Why were you trying to hide that for, Pony?"

Soda looked at Steve, then back at me. I could've strangled Steve to death right then and there.

"Come on, Ponyboy, Dally's sure to find trouble if we don't hurry up and meet him at your house." After I strangled Steve, I could've kissed Johnny for saving me. Not really. That's figurative.

"Oh, right. See y'all later." I mumbled before we left. We couldn't have gotten out of there fast enough.

--

"Well?" I looked up at Johnny. We'd got just gotten back to my house, where Dally wasn't waiting for us.

"What?" Johnny sat on the floor and opened his Pepsi bottle.

"You might've gotten out of explainin' yourself to Steve and Soda, but not me," he grinned, "How come you didn't want 'em knowin'?" I sighed. No one knew the whole situation except for me and Two-Bit. But I thought a while. I had already told Johnny part of what was going on, and there wasn't any reason why I couldn't trust him.

"Anybody home?" Coincidentally, Dally Winston came through the door smiling, "Hey Johnny. Pony, where're your big brothers?" He went into the kitchen and I didn't answer him.

"Hey, Dallas." Johnny said, "Well, Pon?" I sighed.

"I haven't been at the school track; I've been going over town."

"You've been training with a soc?" I shook my head.

"No, the other over town. The girl that's been helping me… she's not white, she's from across town." I tried to say it the best way I could without saying it. Johnny didn't say anything for a while, but he finally looked back at me.

"She's black?" he asked. I started fiddling with my fingers.

"Yeah, she's black."

"I think the politically correct term is 'colored', you two. Move over, Pony." Dally said, carrying a sandwich in his bare hand.

"So what's the problem?" Johnny asked.

"Darry. He'd kill me if he found out I was going to the country by myself."

"Hell, I don't see why. Greasers and coloreds got the most in common out of everyone if you ask me, everyone hates us and we handle our own." I couldn't believe what I was hearing out of Johnny Cade's mouth. He looked me square in the eye. "You ain't anymore scared of them then they are of us."

"Who said I was scared?"

"You're scared of somethin'." He said, "You always play with your hands when you're scared and don't have a cigarette." I jammed my hands into my pockets and Johnny exhaled. "Don't tell him if you don't want to, but I think you're getting worked up over nothin'. I mean you've already talked to Darry about it before and the girl did everything you wanted, just cool it."

I started thinking to myself. What was Johnny talking about? We weren't anything alike, me and Jimmie, I'd found that out a while ago. And she hadn't done anything I'd wanted. She insulted me and chased me off! And there's no way Darry would understand, he'd skin me alive if he found out, even if he was over fifty when he did.

"Besides Darry doesn't care that we're buddies," Johnny said, "And I ain't white." He smiled and I did too. I'd never realized it before, but he wasn't. There was no way Johnny, black eyed, black haired, dark skinned, Johnny Cade, was white.

"What are you, Johnny?"

"Hell," He laughed, "I don't know."

I laughed with him, but I was in my head. What Johnny said still didn't make any sense to me, but he seemed real sure of himself.

I was real sure of something, too. I'd need to go back for my shoes.

**TBC Very Soon.**


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Here I am, as promised!**_

**Disclaimer:** Sorry, I don't own The Outsiders or the characters, but I do own the ones that you've never heard of, because I made them up!

**Summary:** Ponyboy asks a girl to help him train for track try-outs. But as their friendship forms he'll have to witness a lot of things that he never even imagined was real. The Drama ensues.

**Ages:** Ponyboy, 14 Jimmie Lee, 15

**Runnin' Barefoot**

_Chapter: 7_

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_I was real sure of something, too. I'd have to go back for my shoes._

But I'd wait to do that. I had my regular shoes to hold me off, and I didn't really plan on training at all. I know I had said I would, but I didn't feel like it. My legs and back hurt, I was getting sunburns on my face and neck, and I don't even have to tell you about my feet. I didn't feel like running. I _hated_ running. I never wanted to run again. I didn't even feel like going outside.

So I didn't. For two weeks I went straight home from school. I faked sick when anyone asked me to go anywhere, I ignored the phone, and I hardly even came out of me and Soda's room. But even doing all that, I couldn't get Jimmie out of my mind. Or Johnny. A few nights, I couldn't even get to sleep because I was wracking my brain. What did he mean, "She did everything I wanted"? Had he not heard a word I told him about what happened when I was out there? I thought about it so much, it gave me a migraine – twice. But I didn't ask Johnny about it. And I definitely didn't talk to Darry. I just found something else to do to kill time.

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I went outside on the porch to draw one time when it really started bothering me. I can draw a sunset from memory almost perfectly, but whenever I got a chance to see one, I always liked it better to use a live one instead of a memory. I was almost out of time on this one, though. I hardly looked up when Soda and Darry pulled up to the house. But when Soda got out of the car and started whooping and hollering, I put my stuff down. Darry laughed when Soda yanked me up by my sleeves and spun me around.

"What's going on?" I laughed once he set me down.

"I'll tell you, little brother!" Soda yelled. "Your big brother, Darry, here's been workin' on some hot shot's house for the past month and a half. And the son of a gun thought he did such a good job, he gave Mr. Curtis a little tip!" He said before cheering again. I smiled, but I was still a little confused. I sat back down and looked up at Darry.

"What was the tip?" I asked. He had his muscled arms folded and a smirk on his face.

"Six hundred dollars." I blinked, "And the boss says I have too many leave days unused, so—"

"Ten days paid vacation!" Soda yelled, turning cartwheels in the yard. I grinned this time, and stood.

"That's great, Darry!" he ruffled my hair and I shoved my hands in my pockets.

"Yeah, I know kiddo." Darry's voice was different. It was softer, and warmer. I'd never seen him look so happy. He and Soda were _so_ happy. I was glad; I was especially proud of Darry. If there was anything in the world Darry needed it was a break.

But I wasn't happy. I couldn't be. There was too much on my mind. I didn't show it, though. I went right along celebrating and cheering with Soda until Darry made us come inside. He promised us a big dinner that night.

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I'm not so sure how the gang all found out about Darry's bonus so fast; I had no doubt that Sodapop had something to do with it, but I woke up the next morning to Two-Bit snatching the covers off of me and Soda and Steve jumping all over my bed.

"Alright, alright, knock it off. I'm late for school." I groaned. I squinted at my clock: I was more than an hour late. Darry was going to ring my neck.

"School?" Two-Bit howled, "I got news for you, kid, you ain't goin' to school today!" he yelled before he climbed on the bed and joined the other two. I hollered at them to stop, they only did when Two-Bit jumped on my hand and nearly broke it. By then, Darry had come in and ran them off. I threw the sheets off of me and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at my hand.

"It ain't too bad, is it?" he asked. I rubbed it, and said it would be fine.

"You're pullin' me outta school, today?" he smiled, and I couldn't believe it. Whoever said money didn't buy happiness obviously didn't have enough.

"Yeah, Soda talked me into it, and since it is Friday…" his smile dropped right after that and old Darry was back for a while, "But only today. And I wanna see your make-up work on Monday. Don'—"

"Okay, Darry." I kept rubbing my hand.

"Hey, Ponyboy, get outta bed! Darry, let the kid get dressed, will ya?" Dallas yelled from the hall.

"Where're we going?" I asked when Darry got up to leave.

"To the lake." He answered and closed the door. I hopped out of the bed really fast then, and forgot all about my hand, my soreness, my sunburns, my feet, everything. I don't remember ever being so excited. We hadn't been to the lake since I was nine. That was with mom and dad. Now the whole gang was going! It would be the perfect thing to get my mind off of everything that had been bugging me. It didn't take me two minutes to get dressed.

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Even the ride there was fun. We all piled into the truck and blasted the radio down the street. Two-Bit and Steve yelled and cursed at people walking on the sidewalk and Dallas shook up some of the Soda cans we bought and threw them hard at any socy-looking cars, and once at a socy-looking boy. He fell out on the concrete when it hit him in the back of the head, knocked out cold.

"That oughta knock 'em down a few pegs, ey boys?" We all laughed. I did, too. What did I care if Dally Winston gave some soc a concussion? He should've known better than to walk by himself. It wouldn't be the first time Dally gave someone a concussion, anyway.

When we got there half the Pepsi's were gone, but none of the beer. Dally didn't care, the Pepsi's weren't his.

"We didn't come here for a picnic, kid. Don't worry, Ponyboy, we got plenty of cold ones for you and Johnnycakes." He laughed. Even though he knew Darry would break his jaw if he found out he tried to get me and Johnny to drink.

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I was out of the water in five minutes. It wasn't that I wasn't giving a good time. Soda and Steve were being too rowdy and Two-Bit was splashing too much. So me and Johnny sat in the back of the truck watching everyone else with Dallas and talking.

"You kids want somethin' to watch?" We all looked up and saw Two-Bit about a mile high in a tree, "I'll give you somethin' to watch!"

"Yeah? What are you gonna do, Mathews?" Dally dared him.

"What's it look like? Look and maybe you'll learn somethin', greaser!" he shouted back.

"Man; I sure hope this is the deep end!" He shouted before he dove, getting water on everyone and everything. Dally grinned. I was a little shocked, you hardly saw a smile on Dallas' face unless he was about to start trouble.

"I think I'm up for a dip, boys." He said, putting out the cigarette he'd been smoking.

"Go ahead." Johnny laughed. Dallas patted his back hard and left us there. We both watched him climb up the hill everyone had been jumping off of, and started taunting him when he took his shirt and jacket off. But it turned into just plain shouting and laughing when he continued undressing until he was completely stark naked in front of everyone. I felt my ears get hot and I looked away. Everyone else had an arm covering their eyes.

"Ugh!" Johnny laughed, "Come on, Dallas!"

"Why didn't you bring any swimming trunks, dummy?" Soda yelled, throwing a stick that didn't reach him.

"I didn't have any," Dally answered, "I didn't want to get my drawers wet."

"You're a sick man!" Steve yelled.

"I just washed 'em!" Dally still was smirking and had his hands on his hips and his feet spread wide. I don't know why I looked back up; I know I had to be as red as a beet.

"Jump, then, and get down from there!" Two-Bit hollered, "You're scarin' the nature away!"

"Alright, alright. Cover your eyes! I'd hate to embarrass you ladies!" He yelled before he did a cannonball into the water. I wasn't surprised that everyone kept their distance from him in the water.

"How come you won't swim, Johnny?" he shrugged.

"I don't dig water," He answered, finishing off the last Pepsi, "Why'd you get out? You've been acting weird ever since you told me about that Jimmie girl."

"I haven't been acting anything." Johnny smiled.

"You have so. And now you're gettin' offensive."

He meant _defensive_, but I didn't correct him. If it was anyone else I would have, I would've taken pleasure in doing it, too.

"I like you better when you're quiet," I grumbled.

"Come on, Mr. Trackstar!" Steve yelled, trudging out of the water, "Come race me!" I climbed out of the truck. I didn't want to race Steve, my left foot had healed fine but my right was kind of tender, I just wanted to get away from Johnny and his questions.

"What do you say," he sneered at me, "To the road?"

"_From_ the road," I kept cool, "I want all your buddies to see you get whipped." He chuckled and we both started off toward the road we turned in from.

"Whatever it is you're tryin' to hide," Steve started once we were far enough that no one could hear, "I'm gonna figure it out, and soon, Mr. Trackstar."

"What makes you think there's anything to figure out?" I snapped at him.

"I told you. You've been disappearin' all the time and you haven't been taggin' along all the time like you usually do."

"You'd think you missed me from the way you talk."

"I'm gonna find it out," he kept on like he didn't hear me, "And if it's anything like I think it is, it's gonna be a whirl of hell for you once Darry knows."

"I'm shaking." If Steve had been anyone else in the world he would've believed that I wasn't afraid of Darry. But he wasn't. He was Steve. And he knew, because he was just as scared of him as I was.

"Ready, big shot?" Steve said once our feet finally reached the pavement.

"Ready, big mouth." I knelt down, staring at the ground the whole time, and waited for him to say 'go'. But he never did. I found out why when I looked up after a while. He had already started and was a good five or six yards ahead of me. That, for some reason, made me really mad. Actually, mad isn't the word. I was _fuming_, and I shot off instantly. All I could even think about was racing Jimmie at the football field, and her friends laughing and cursing at me. That look she gave me when she beat me with a ten second head start. The things she shouted at me while we were training, and how she laughed at me while I coughed and fought to catch my breath. I felt the heat rushing to my face, and I pushed even harder. Steve wasn't going to do that to me. Not ever. I could see the truck and the lake getting closer, I could hear my heart beating in my ears, but I didn't feel my feet pounding on the ground.

When I came to a stop, I was ankle deep in the water, and in a daze. I took a minute to catch my breath and looked up. Everyone was looking at me weird. Johnny, Soda, even Dallas. I looked around for Steve, and when he finally did show up beside me, he was looking at me the same way. I wanted to rub his face in the fact that I had beaten him, but I was getting the creeps with everyone gawking at me.

"How'd you do that?" Steve finally gasped. I looked around at everyone else again before I turned back to him.

"Do what?" He didn't answer me. No one did. They just kept staring.

----------o--------o--------o--------O--------o--------o--------o--------

All during the ride home Johnny was quiet. That would've been normal, except he'd been talking so much before, and now he wouldn't even crack a grin at Dally. And he worshiped Dally. Then I suddenly remembered all that I'd said to him, and how I'd been acting toward him over the past weeks. I was being real dumb and selfish. I told him I liked him better when he was quiet just when he started opening his mouth. I was pretty sure I'd hurt his feelings more than a few times, and I felt really bad.

When we pulled up to my house, it was dark and Johnny was about to go home, but I told him to stay since it wasn't a school night. He didn't look at me, but he said sure and we all went inside.

"I'm not mad at you, Johnny. I been just thinkin' a lot," I finally told him. I'd waited until Darry and Soda were in the kitchen eating and couldn't hear us before I said anything. We both just sat there quiet, "I can't figure nothin' out."

"Figure what out?" I lit up a cigarette. It was embarrassing to tell him that I couldn't understand what he meant about Jemima. Don't ask my why. I don't know why.

"What you meant when you said that Jimmie Lee did everything I asked her." I said, flipping the lighter closed.

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't," He answered, I handed him a weed and he kept talking after I lit it for him, "You're too deep sometimes, Pon. I mean, bein' deep is good, but you think too much over little things." He looked up at me and smiled, like I should've got what he meant then. But I didn't. I guess he could tell, too.

"Look. What all did you want out of askin' her to train you?"

"I don't know…to run faster, I guess."

"And what else?" I watched Johnny flick his ashes and thought.

"I guess," I took a long drag and held it before I answered him, "I wanted us to be friends." Johnny nodded.

"And when you talked to Darry, what'd he say?" I shrugged.

"He told me that I should relearn all the basics. That it would help if I did."

"Ok. And what happened when you went out there?" I groaned and pushed myself of the ground. If I had known this was where he was going with all his questions I never would've said anything to him.

"I already told you what happened," I almost yelled, "She insulted me, and talked about my hair—she made me take my shoes off and threw 'em in the woods so I could get a rock jammed in my foot and cut the other one!" I was almost shaking, going through the humiliation all over again for the third time.

"You oughta get to bed, Pon. You're startin' to get grumpy." Johnny lifted himself off the ground, too, "I'm serious, man, just think about it more for a few days, but not so deep. Think a little less, I guess. I dunno, but it'll mean a lot more to ya if you figure it out on your own, Ponyboy. If it were different I would'a told you before, you know that."

I looked at him hard. I hardly ever remembered that Johnny was almost three years older than me, but the way he was talking now, he seemed older than even Darry. But I couldn't get what he meant, still, and it made me feel dumb; like I couldn't see something that was right in front of me, and that bothered me so much that my throat got one of those lumps in it. You know the kind that hurt and that you get when you're sad or frustrated, that you try to swallow down, but that won't leave until you bawl your eyes out.

"Yeah, I think I will head on to bed." I shifted on my feet and tried to look in his eyes, "Thanks, Johnny."

When I got in the bed, I pulled the covers over me and turned over so Soda'd think I'd fell straight to sleep, I needed to think. I needed to, but I couldn't. Everything just replayed itself in my mind and it didn't make anymore sense than it did before, and it was making the lump in my throat get bigger.

I wished I had mom and dad. Dad would tell me everything I was misunderstanding. Why I was afraid and ashamed to tell anyone that I'd asked a colored girl for her help, why I couldn't focus, why I wasn't jumping out of my socks to hear that Darry got the best news of a lifetime, why I felt so confused over something quiet little Johnny had said. He'd tell me and even make it funny and say something like: "What happened to you being the sensible one of my boys? Here I am thinking you're gonna grow up to be a scholar and you're walking around without shoes!"

Then mom would tell him not to tease me and tell me it would be fine. Mom was so beautiful. Her hair was golden and brighter even than Soda's, and her eyes were like his too, clear and brown. I kept thinking about her and dad and how they couldn't help me anymore, and buried my face into my pillow so I couldn't feel the tears on my face.

Johnny was right. I had to figure everything out on my own, and I made up my mind then and there that I would.

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Runnin' Barefoot**

_Johnny was right. I had to figure everything out on my own, and I made up my mind then and there that I would._

And the first thing to do was to get my shoes. As soon as I got up, I threw on a jacket and headed for the door. I didn't expect Jimmie to be there, I hadn't showed up in the past two weeks and the last time I did see her I had yelled at her... Boy was there gonna be hell to pay trying to get her to help me again. But it really was my own fault. Sometimes, pretty rarely, but sometimes I lose my temper really easy. I'd have to learn to control that.

"Where ya goin', Pony?" I heard Darry when I was hardly out of the screen door.

"To the track, I'll be back later."

"Get someone to go with ya. I don't want you walkin' by yourself too much." He poked his head into the living room.

"Yeah, those socs oughta be itchin' to jump one of us now, ever since Dally hit that one with the soda can." Soda laughed from the couch.

I stopped when he said that and realized pretty fast that they were right. It would be my luck that some socs would decide to try and jump me today because of something Dallas did.

"I'll get Johnny to go with me." I said before I closed the door behind me. I changed my mind on the way to his house, though. After all we'd talked over and all that he'd told me, I wasn't ready to face Johnny. Not yet, anyway. So I decided to get Two-Bit to walk with me instead.

OoOoOo

Two-Bit didn't have a problem with going with me to the woods to try and find my shoes when I asked him.

"Hell, I helped get you into all this, anyway, I might as well." he laughed while we left his house.

"_Helped?_" Two-Bit's mouth never needed assistance in anything. "You and your mouth are the _only _reason I'm in this mess."

"Yeah! Where'd you think I got the help from?" I couldn't help but chuckle, at least he'd agreed to come with me, "So she threw your shoes into the woods, huh?" He laughed, "What'd ya do to her, man?" Just like that, my good mood was gone.

"_I _didn't do _anything._" I shoved my hands into my pockets. I was getting real tired of running that whole scene over and over again in my head, she was the one who humiliated me and everyone was making it seem like it was my fault or something I did, "And I don't wanna talk about it."

"Oh, lighten up, kid. You take yourself too serious, she was probably just kiddin'."

"Right, real funny." I mumbled, I was about ask him something then, but as soon as I saw his face I couldn't remember what I was going to say. Not even to this day, I can't.

He wasn't smiling anymore, his face was like stone...grim is the word, I think. That has to be the word. His eyes were stormy, and his expression dropped. He looked deadly, and it scared me.

That's when the shiny gray corvair pulled up next to us.

Just my luck.

There were three socs inside, but they were small so me and Two-Bit could take them pretty easily if they tried anything. Honestly, that wasn't what I was worried about. It was the soc that was driving that worried me. His name was Eric Cruise. I'd never actually seen him before, but I recognized him from the deep scar under his eye and the two false front teeth in his mouth. Soda had told me about him.

Two months ago, Two-Bit had been messing around at the DX with Soda and Steve when Eric the soc drove up with his brand new dark gray corvair to show off and bad mouth the "grease monkeys" he'd pay to fix his wheels. That wasn't anything new. Socs always tried to make us feel like dirt in front of their friends. Especially Soda and Steve because the girls liked them so much.

He must not have known much about us greasers, though, because he tried to get in a battle of wits with Two-Bit, of allt people. Of course he lost, and Two-Bit ended up throwing a few eggs at his pretty new car to teach him a lesson. But when Eric got mad and said something dirty about Two-Bit's mother, that's when all the jokes stopped.

_"Ponyboy, you should've seen his face," _he told me, _"And once he got a hold of him..." _he shook his head, like he'd remembered more than he'd wanted to, _"He wanted to kill him, Pony. If me and Steve hadn't'a stopped him, he would have."_

That boy was the same one that was next to us now, and glory if he wasn't giving Two-Bit the same look he had. Worse even...

"You wait 'till I catch you alone, Matthews," he said. His voice was hard and lifeless. It scared the devil out of me, but I didn't show it.

"Yeah, I'll wait," he said back, flipping out his ten-inch switch blade, "then you won't have anyone to pull me off you."

Eric didn't say anything, but you could see his face turn white as a ghost before he drove off. I stared after the car until it was out of sight.

"It's alright, Ponyboy, you're fine." Two-Bit patted me on the back and lit up a Kool. I realized, then, that I'd been holding my breath the entire time.

"Should we go back?"

"You kiddin' me? I ain't scared of them-" he went on calling them all kinds of names I don't care to repeat, "No, you go ahead, I'll wait for you right here." he said, leaning against the school's outside staircase. He looked cooler than usual, almost unnaturally. I was almost afraid of him.

"You sure?" I asked.

He looked up like he had forgotten I was even there, "Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry, they won't bother you, kid," he laughed, "It's me they're gunnin' for."

OoOoOo

I walked across town as fast as I could until I was clear out of soc territory. Two-Bit could've told me anything he wanted, but I wasn't taking any chances. I didn't want him to get jumped, either, so I knew I'd have to get my shoes fast. I took a minute to catch my breath and decided to jog the rest of the way

It didn't take me quite as long to get to the track. And I didn't have to bend over to catch my breath, either. But I didn't pay attention to that. I had to hurry and find my running shoes before those socs came back looking for Two-Bit...or me. I looked around, and to be honest I was a little disappointed that Jimmie wasn't there. I know it didn't make sense for her to keep waiting out there for me when I'd yelled at her that I wasn't coming back. I don't know what I was thinking, but it bothered me anyway.

I stood where I had been the last time I was there, when Jimmie Lee had thrown my shoes off. She'd slung them somewhere to the left, so I went that way. And I was extra careful once I hit the bush, if there was broken glass and chipped rocks on the smooth part, there was no telling what was back in there.

I looked all through the trees and on the ground, but I couldn't find them for anything, and I knew I had already spent too much time out there looking for them, so I decided to just leave. I'd try again tomorrow. There was no telling where they were anyway.

"What you doin' out here?"

I looked up once I was out of the trees, and I was a little spooked when I saw Jemima standing a few feet away.

"Uh," I ran my hand through my hair and looked around. I was kinda happy to see her, but I didn't feel like fighting or arguing. I didn't have time for it, either, "I was looking for my shoes." I walked closer to her. I had to get out of there, but I figured the least I could do before I left was to apologize.

"Look," She interrupted me, "I...I din't know there was glass out here," I was confused when she said that, "I saw you bleedin'."

"Oh," I shrugged, "It's okay." She had yelled at me while I was hurt, but like she said, she didn't know. And it wasn't her fault there was broken glass out there, anyway. "I didn't mean to yell at you, Jimmie... I'm sorry I did, I just lost my head." I couldn't even look her in the face. I felt ashamed. I was speaking to the ground, but her hands caught my attention. She had her arms folded, so it was hard to see, but there was something around them, "What happened with your hand?" I pointed and asked. She looked down and put them behind her back.

"I got 'em," she said, she ignored what I'd asked her, "I'll bring 'em to ya tomorrow, if you want, since you leavin'." I could feel my forehead wrinkle.

"Alright, sure. I'll come back tomorrow..." I wasn't sure what to do then, I felt like I should've done something, or at least stayed and talked to her more, but I left anyway so it wouldn't get too awkward.

OoOoOo

Two- Bit and I got back fine when I met him at the school. He thought it was a riot how nervous I was about the whole thing.

"I told you you were fine!" he laughed, "I bet they didn't even know who you were...they wouldn't remember you anyway, even if they did."

"Yeah, says _you_." I said, "Besides, I wasn't gonna just leave you there like a sittin' duck. They would'a whipped you."

"Psh, hell. I _wanted _'em to come back. Somebody's gotta teach that guy a lesson in manners."

I laughed, "Yeah? And since when do you have manners?" He laughed, too.

"I got 'em all beat outta me I guess. Maybe it works the same the other way and I can beat 'em into him." He cackled. He kept up like that all the way to my house.

"You comin' in?" I asked him when he didn't come up the porch.

"Nah, I'm headed out. Who knows. Maybe I'll run into our good friend again." He flipped his collar and left down the street. I couldn't understand him, but I left it alone and went inside. If he wanted to get into a fight that bad, who was I to stop him?

OoOoOo

I went to bed kind of early that night. I was thinking about Jimmie again. My mind was occupied when I saw her, but now that I had time to think, the whole thing seemed strange. Why had she been out there?

She had seemed different. She was talking to me almost like she was afraid of me. And she offered me my shoes back! I would've never thought she'd do that in a million years. There was something I wasn't understanding. Again.

I looked up when Soda came into the room.

"You're turnin' in early too, huh Pony?" He asked, plopping onto the bed and kicking his shoes off. I mumbled and he pulled the sheets up over him. "You tell Darry 'goodnight'?"

"Yeah." I lied. I didn't feel like going through that talk again. Darry didn't need me to say 'goodnight' to him. He never even said 'goodnight' to me. He was so stubborn. Just like Jimmie.

Just then my mind flashed back to earlier when I had seen her.

_"I din't know there was glass out here...I saw you bleedin'."_

I shook my head. Of course. I should've known right then and there that that was her stubborn way of apologizing. I'd seen and heard Darry do it enough to know. She had said those words, but meant _"I'm so sorry I made you hurt yourself. I felt horrible when I saw how bad your foot was."_

"Man, Pony, the other day when you raced Steve... that was crazy."

I sat up when he said that, maybe now I'd know why they had all been staring at me like I had three heads that day at the lake, "What do you mean?"

He laughed, "I mean _you_, Pony!" I still didn't understand, but he kept going, "I don't think I've ever seen you look so mad before. I know I ain't ever seen anyone run that fast before."

Well of course I'd been mad, Steve made me that way. That and thinking about how Jimmie yelled at me and made fun of me all the time...

Then I froze. They were _bandages_. She had _bandages on her hands_.

Then I understood everything that Johnny had told me, every single word. And I felt dumber than a sack of rocks.


	10. Chapter 10

_Wow, you guys are AMAZING with your reviews! Thank you all soo much, you have no idea how much you've inspired me!_

_Oh, and I'd like to give a veryyyy special Thank You to x-usernameless-x and shadowhuntergall44 for asking me very sweetly to continue this fic. Thank you, ladies, you're definitely my driving force! _

**Runnin' Barefoot**

_Then I understood everything that Johnny had told me, every single word. And I felt dumber than a sack of rocks._

That was why she was out there. She'd been going out there since I'd left and been picking up the glass. That's why her hands were bandaged... that's why she'd hid her hands from me. She'd hurt herself trying to fix something she hadn't messed up, because I had hurt myself on her track.

I kept thinking, and the rest was like dominoes. She really had done everything I wanted.

I wanted her to train me to run faster.

So she taught me the best way she knew how. She yelled at me and taunted me and insulted me until that was all I could think about every time I ran. She taught me to use anger to push myself, and to use it to run harder. And apparently it worked, according to Sodapop and everybody else.

I wanted us to be friends. Even though we were as different as we were.

So she tried to be friendly by asking me about my hair, one of the most recognizable things about me. People always asked me about my hair. That's actually how I met most of my school buddies: one day they'd said something about my hair or asked what kind of oil I used and I told them. But I was so defensive that I didn't understand what she meant when she asked. She was trying to talk to me. Like a person instead of a coach.

I wanted her to teach me basics.

I had been slacking. I'd been getting slower than I'd ever been, and she'd noticed. So what did she do? She made me take my shoes off. How much more basic could you get than running barefoot in the country on clay dirt?

Every single thing I'd wanted out of her training me, she did. And what did I do to thank her? I called her crazy, and yelled at her that I didn't need her or her help. I sat up on the side of the bed. I felt even more stupid than before when I had no clue what Johnny had meant. I buried my face in my hands. I'd been all around lousy. To everybody. Jimmie, Johnny, Darry... I groaned. I'd never felt like such a lowlife'd jackass.

"You sick or somethin', Ponyboy?" I heard Soda ask behind me.

"No, I'm just..."

I couldn't answer him. Just stupid. I layed back down and covered my eyes with my arm so I could think.

She said she had my shoes...

She told me she'd bring me back my shoes tomorrow. Maybe then I could beg her to help me still. Not only for track, but just because I wasn't ready for her to vanish from my life, even though that's probably all she wanted to do. I'd talk to her tomorrow. I'd try at least. I had to. That only meant one thing, though. Tonight was gonna be a real long night.

"Soda, I'm gonna..." I turned and looked at him. He was out like a light already, so I just got up to sit in the den. That way I wouldn't bother him.

OoOoOo

When the time finally did come for me to head out, I hurried and jumped in the shower. I hardly got any sleep, now that I think about it. I was probably running on nothing but adrenaline. It was enough, though.

I didn't tell Darry where I was going or what I was doing. He was just gonna get worried and try and get one of the gang to go along with me and I didn't feel like going through all of that. I didn't have time for it, even though now that I look back, I know that was a bad idea.

OoOoOo

I got across town faster than I ever had, and she was waiting with her back turned to me. I almost didn't recognize her at first. Even from that angle she looked different. I guess she heard me coming behind her and she turned around... and when she did I almost stopped dead in my tracks. She was wearing a dress. I mean, I had seen her wear skirts at school, but this was different. It was yellow and light blue and had flowers all over it.

I finally did reach her and saw just how different she looked when she looked up to face me. Her hair was done different than I had been used to seeing it. And she had sparkly diamond earrings in her ears. I'd never seen her look so girly. It made my ears get hot.

"Here," she held up my shoes in front of me, but she wouldn't look at me... she hadn't the whole time... not in my eyes at least. I barely looked at them, I just kept my eyes on her, trying to figure out something to say. But I couldn't figure out how to put everything I'd figured out into words. "You gon' take 'em?" She snapped.

I don't know why, but grinned then. Like a mule. I'd never been so happy at someone being angry with me, but this time I was, and the next thing I knew I was squeezing the life out of her and had her off the ground. She was beating the daylights out of me with her fists and kicking and trying to push me off the whole time, but I just laughed while she cursed me out.

"Put me down, you..." she was using the shoes to beat me across the back and calling me every name under the sun by then, so I finally let her down back on her feet. "I knew I shouldn't'a come out here! Take 'em, an' don't come out here again, fool!" She threw the shoes into my chest and yelled.

"No." I just shook my head. I wanted to see just how mad she would get.

"Whatchu mean, 'no'?"

"I'm not leavin', Jimmie," I told her again. She narrowed her eyes at me when I shrugged at her.

"Ok, well, tell y'what. _I am_. Move ya crazy white ... out the way." She said trying to shove me. I didn't budge. When she finally did look me in the face I quit joking around and got serious.

"I don't want you to stop training me, Jimmie."

I looked her dead in the eyes, and for a split second she looked almost happy to hear me say it. I really mean a split second, too. If I had blinked, I wouldn't have seen it. Then she narrowed her big brown eyes at me until they were slits and flared her nostrils at me.

"Why." She said. What she _really_ meant was 'gimme one reason not to knee you where the sun don't shine and leave you curled up in the dirt', but that's what she said. 'Why'. I tried to come up with a way to tell her really why, and it took me a while to find the words. But once I stopped thinking so much, they came right to me.

"Because I need you to."

She kept looking at me with her eyes slitted for a long time after I said that. It was starting to make me fidgety. But finally she sighed and crossed her arms.

"You got some kinda nerve, little boy."

I chuckled at her, "Yeah, I know. And you've got some kinda attitude," her expression changed after that. I guess she was kind of surprised that I was starting to open my mouth to her... but she wasn't mad about it. In fact, and I could hardly believe it myself, her mouth turned up into a little grin and she shook her head. That sent a million thoughts through my head. I couldn't rightly recall ever seeing her smile before that... not when it came to anything having to do with me, anyway. Was this what she'd wanted? Had she been waiting for me to figure out everything like Johnny had? Had she just been messing with my head this whole time or testing me? Were we friends now? I wanted to ask her every one of those, but she spoke again before I could think clearly.

"Ima be late for church," she said, "You meet me out here tomorrow aft'school."

She started to leave, then, and I called after her and asked what about my shoes. She didn't turn around, just kept walking and said I wasn't ready for them yet. She was probably right.

OoOoOo

I got home even faster than I'd gotten to the track. I was just going to walk back, but right when I had almost gotten back into town I got a feeling that a car was trailing me. When I checked behind me, no one was there...and I checked a few times, but I guess my nerves just got the best of me. So I ran the rest of the way.

I was just about home when I saw Johnny walking in the same direction. I sped up to catch up to him. Right after Jimmie, he was the next person I really needed to talk to. He turned when he heard me coming up behind him and grinned.

"Hey, Johnny!" I panted and slung my arm over his shoulder, "Where ya headed, I wanted to tell you somethin'."

"Well,... over to your house, then, I guess," he laughed, "Where are you comin' from, you're sure in a good mood."

"How do ya figure?" I asked him. I didn't think I was acting any different than usual.

"Well you're smilin' from ear to ear, for one thing," he laughed again, putting his hands in his jacket pockets, "I'm surprised you can see, your cheeks are closin' your eyes from you grinnin'. Come on, tell me."

"Well, I talked to Jimmie." I laughed. He looked kind of confused at me when I said it.

"About what?"

"Well, about how I needed her to keep helpin' me."

He grinned at me again. I guess he knew that I'd finally came to my senses by then, "So ya figured out what I meant, huh?"

"Yeah. Soda made me realize it."

"Really? How?" he asked.

"He was tellin' me about how mad I was looking when I raced Steve at the lake," I shrugged, "It just flipped on in my head."

"Yeah, it's a lot easier to think when you do it less. Some things should just... be. You know what I mean, Pon'?" he asked, "I mean, there are things that have all these meanings and they're all hidden and it's beautiful when you get deep into 'em... but there are things that are just there, plain and simple. And they can be beautiful too, and have meaning and be special and all that," he said. We were at my house by then, and I stopped when we got to the gate.

"Yeah... I guess you just gotta know when to be deep or not. Like... learn the difference, huh, Johnny?"

"Yup," he answered, "That comes with time I guess," he opened the front door and I followed him in. He seemed to have it mastered to me. And right then I got the feeling that I had a few more things to learn from Johnny. And maybe Jimmie, too.

**TBC**


End file.
